


Stark's Anatomy

by winter_bunny



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Grey's Anatomy, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Doctor/Patient, Falling In Love, Happy Ending, Hospitalization, M/M, Nightmares, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-24
Updated: 2016-08-03
Packaged: 2018-07-26 10:38:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7570948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/winter_bunny/pseuds/winter_bunny
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dr. Cassel, Chief of surgery at Winterfell Sacred Tree Hospital, entered the OR, holding a mask in front of his excited face.</p><p>“Jaime!” he looked at the surgeon standing at the OR table. “There’s good news. We’ve got a new heart for Theon Greyjoy.” He informed the head of cardiothoracic surgery, Dr. Lannister.</p><p>“Oh, great, I was afraid we wouldn’t get one… Does he already know?” Dr. Lannister answered in a casual voice, his eyes still focused on his current patient.</p><p>“He’s arrived ten minutes ago.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. in my heart will always be a place for you, for all my life

**Author's Note:**

> Obviously based on Grey’s Anatomy, most of the dialogues are from the show. I love the story arc of Izzy and Denny, even though it’s a pretty tragic one. So, here we go :)
> 
> I’m not a doctor nor do I have any medical education, the information is mostly from wikipedia and I also tried to go not too much into the details of the medical stuff.

Dr. Cassel, Chief of surgery at Winterfell Sacred Tree Hospital, entered the OR, holding a mask in front of his excited face.

“Jaime!” he looked at the surgeon standing at the OR table. “There’s good news. We’ve finally got a new heart for Theon Greyjoy.” He informed the head of cardiothoracic surgery, Dr. Lannister.

“Oh, great, I was afraid we wouldn’t get one… Does he already know?” Dr. Lannister answered in a casual voice, his eyes still focused on his current patient.

“He’s arrived ten minutes ago.”

 

\---

 

“Theon Greyjoy-“

“Hi, Dr. Bronn.”

“-you being here hopefully means that you’ll finally receive a new heart?”

“No offense, but I’m not quite a fan of hospitals. I could name you at least ten places I would prefer instead of being here… Probably Sunspear, down in Dorne, lying at the beach and holding some Dornish Red Slushy in my hand…” The patient said and a smile spread on his face. He looked pale and tired, but not quite in an unhealthy way, at least not yet. His black hair was casually put back into a messy bun.

His brown eyes wandered from Dr. Bronn to the auburn-curled intern behind him and started to brighten.

Dr. Bronn turned around to his surgical interns, ready to test them. The four of them stood behind him in a row and the one the patient looked at was holding the clipboard with the patient information sheets. “What do we know about Mr. Greyjoy, Dr. Stark?”

“Virgo, single, used to love archery and the sea.” The patient answered, still smiling, his eyes still glued on Robb, before said intern could say a word or could even take a serious look at the sheet.

Theon Greyjoy had been a patient of Dr. Lannister for a long time by then. He had been diagnosed with viral cardiomyopathy about four years prior, which caused his heart to fail.

Robb repeated that diagnose to Dr. Bronn and his fellow interns.

“Theon, this is Dr. Stark. He will take care of you until the surgery begins.” Dr. Bronn introduced them.

Theon Greyjoy’s smile had turned into a smirk. “So we’re going to see each other more often now, Dr. Stark.”

“Yeah, it seems so… See you later.” Robb chuckled, his face reddening a bit as he turned around to leave the room. The others also left and everyone headed into a different direction.

 

“Unbelievable, that guy can barely move but he’s flirting with you like it was some Olympic discipline…” Talisa whispered towards Robb as she walked next to him. It wasn’t a secret that Robb had been dating women and men in his past.

“He was just being nice, nothing else…” Robb’s face turned a little redder and he smiled to himself. Then he looked at Talisa with a grin and a raised eyebrow. “Are you jealous?”

“Jealous? Me? Are you kidding?! Seriously not.” Talisa answered snorting and rolled her eyes.

 

\---

 

A few hours later Robb came back to Theon Greyjoy’s dimmed patient room. The shutters were lowered and the patient seemed to sleep. Robb walked beside the bed to check on his vital signs.

“Hey, Doc.” He heard a faint whisper.

He turned around to see that Theon’s eyes were open and staring at him. “Hey, I thought you were asleep…” Robb said as he put the stethoscope into his ears.

“I don’t sleep in hospitals, I’m afraid that I won’t wake up again.”

Robb bent over him to check his heart sounds. He tried to ignore the fact that Theon was smiling flirtingly at him again. But he wasn’t able to avoid noticing that his eyes weren’t entirely brown; they were greenly surrounded and around his pupil were several dark spots.

“May I ask you something personal?”

“And what if I say ‘No’?” Robb replied, also smiling slightly. He tried to not blush again.

“Then I’ll hold my breath and my heart’s going to stop and then I’m dead and you’ll be arrested for murder.”

“So my options are ‘being charged for murder’ or ‘answering inappropriate patient’s questions?” Robb turned towards the clipboard to write the results down.

“This sucks, doesn’t it?”

“Maybe I’ll risk the arrestment…” Robb considered. “Anyway, what do you want to know?”

Theon hesitated for a moment and looked towards the door before looking back at Robb’s face again. “That girl, Talisa, are you two- are you together?”

 “No. Not anymore.” Robb returned his look. Theon was right, he and Talisa had been dating for a while but she decided to cheat on him with one of the male pediatrics nurses, ultimately ending their relationship. “And we won’t ever be together again.”

“Good.”

“Why is that good?”

“Then I don’t have you wrest from her.”

“Why do you think that I need or want to be wrested from her?”

“Excuse me? Because you’re obviously in love with me.” Theon stated with his most insolent smirk.

“Oh, really, am I?” Robb raised his eyebrows in amusement and chuckled.

“Well, it’s not your fault. I’m funny, good-looking and smart, I’m quite wealthy but money doesn’t mean that much to me. I love animals. So besides the heart-failure and a certain dependence of several prescription drugs, I am a pretty good catch.”

“Yes, you’re right.” Robb said laughing and turned around to leave the room. “I am totally in love with you. But isn’t it a shame that I’m going to be arrested for murder?”

He could hear Theon joining his laughter as he walked out.

 

\---

 

Theon was nervously fidgeting with his fingers as Robb came into his room for the third time this day, making notes on a small block which he put back into the pocket of his scrubs to look after Theon.

“Hey, Dr. Stark.”

“Hey, Theon. Everything ok?”

“I’ve been waiting so long now. And today they’re going to open my chest, get my heart out, and put another one inside…”

“Well, I didn’t make it, but I’m pretty sure that the new heart will be a better one.” Robb said reassuringly.

“Yeah, but what if something goes wrong?”

“Don’t be scared. Dr. Lannister is our best cardiothoracic surgeon. And you’re getting a new heart today. Just think about that.”

“Ok.”

 

“Theon-“ Dr. Lannister greeted his longtime patient as he entered the room just a moment later. He looked into Theon’s patient record and stood in front of his bed.

“Jamie Lannister, my favorite cardiothoracic surgeon…”

“And your ONLY cardiothoracic surgeon.” Jamie laughed and started to tell him the details of the preparations of the heart donor’s surgery. He would stay in touch on the phone with Dr. Bronn, who had gone to catch the new heart. He would be brought to the OR as soon as Dr. Bronn was on his way back to Winterfell.

Dr. Lannister and Robb were about to leave the room as Theon said “Robb?”

“Yeah?” Robb turned around to look at him.

He was smiling again. “I’m getting a new heart.”

“Yes, you do.” Robb really liked this smile and returned it. “See you then.”

“Bye.” Theon whispered, leaned back on his bed and closed his eyes.

 

\---

 

 Robb, already in his surgery scrubs, leaned against the door frame and watched Theon lying in his bed. He wasn’t happy about what he would have to tell him. Theon had his eyes closed but eventually began to smile.

“You’re following me. You’re a stalker.”

“Well, that’s not entirely my fault.” Robb said as he approached him.

Theon opened his eyes. “You’ve got bad news…” He stated; it wasn’t a question.

“Theon, you’ve got time-“

“Liar.”

“Fine. Your time is over…”

“Now, that was mean.” He paused for a moment. “So… No new heart?”

Robb shook his head and swallowed. “No new heart.”

They stared into each other’s eyes and Theon tried to put on a brave face, but his smile turned out to be a sad one this time.

 

\---

 

An hour later Theon was released from hospital. One of the nurses wheeled his wheelchair towards the exit and they passed Robb who had waited for them in the hall.

“Theon, see you around.”

“Bye, Dr. Stark.”

 

“He’s going home?” Robb turned around to see Talisa standing next to him. He hadn’t even heard her approaching him.

“Yeah, he didn’t get the heart due to the donor showing signs of coronary artery disease.” Robb sounded sad.

“What a pity. He seems a nice guy.” She said sympathetically.

“Yes, he is.” Both turned towards the exit to see Theon standing up from the wheelchair. He turned his head and smiled as he looked at Robb before he walked away.

 

\---

 

Theon was brought to the ER a few weeks later in heart failure. Robb was present as the ER residents shoved him on a stretcher into the treatment room and Robb immediately recognized him as Dr. Lannister’s heart patient.

“Robb, you should come with me -“ his fellow intern and cousin Jon said, as he noticed the worried and alerted look on Robb’s face and tried to drag him away.

Robb just pulled his elbow away harshly and remained there. “No, I’ll stay until Dr. Lannister arrives.”

They had to stabilize Theon in the ER before they could bring him to the cardiothoracic ICU, where they could go on with his treatment. Theon was still unconscious when Dr. Lannister gave the instructions to use cardioversion to shock his heartbeat to normal rhythm.

“Robb?” They suddenly heard him whispering faintly.

Robb turned his gaze from the cardiac monitor towards Theon.

“Hey, you’re awake…”

“I was hoping that it was your shift today…”

“Well, we work practically 24/7-“

Theon began to smile and said weakly. “The things I do to impress you…”

Dr. Lannister explained the further treatment.

“I’ll be around the whole time.” Robb said.

“Is it going to hurt?” Theon asked slightly worried as he looked at Jamie.

“Well, it won’t be funny.” he answered.

“Then you should probably hold my hand.” Theon said as he turned his head back towards Robb, who sat down next to him on the bed and grabbed his hand.

Then they started to shock his heart and with each shock Theon screamed in agony. His knuckles turned white as he squeezed Robb’s hand tightly.

“I should kick your ass for making me scream and cry like a baby in front of a guy I’m trying to impress…” he said, breathing heavy, with tears in his eyes and a red face and Robb couldn’t help but laugh flattered and relieved as Theon’s heart began to beat regularly again.

 

\---

 

Later, after Robb’s shift was over, he changed in the locker room into his casual clothes.

“You’re ready?”

He turned around to see Talisa and Jon waiting for him by the door.

“What?”

“We wanted to go out tonight, Robb, did you forget that? Having beers and fun and playing pool at Tyrion’s, remember?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m already up to something…”

They threw him a suspicious glance, shrugged and left.

 

A few minutes later Robb entered Theon’s patient room, holding Scrabble in his hands.

“Well, this is not quite how I had imagined our perfect first date.” Theon said with a bright smile on his face.

“Oh, are you kidding me? Do you have any idea of how difficult it is to get a cute guy into bed?” Robb answered with an amused expression on his face and winked at him.

“You think I’m cute?”

“Shut up… And drink your juice.” Robb laughed in return as he arranged the side table so they could start the board game.

 

\---

 

On the next day it was Talisa’s turn to take care and look after Theon.

“Where’s Robb?” Theon asked as Talisa checked his vital signs.

“Huh? With another patient, I guess. For now you have to make do with me.” She grinned at him and turned back to the heart monitor.

“No offense, but you’re not quite my type.” Theon laughed.

“No offense taken, as long as I’m Robb’s type everything’s fine.” She said with her back turned towards the patient bed so that she couldn’t see the disappointed and sad look on Theon’s face.

“Are you two together?” he whispered.

“Yes, kind of.”

 

Later that day Robb was back with Theon, sitting next to his bed, playing Scrabble together again.

“You’re unusually quiet today.” Robb stated at some point as he put the tiles on the play board.

“Well, sometimes it’s hard to get behind what’s going on in your mind.”

“What do you mean?” Robb shot him a look that expressed confusion.

“Talisa… Well, she mentioned that you- that you were together…”

Robb looked away, fumbling with the tiles. “That’s not true. I mean, yeah, we had something going on but that’s nothing. And it’s over…”

“Ok.” Theon looked slightly relieved. “Thanks for the enlightenment.”

They sat together for a while, playing in silence as Theon suddenly experienced shortness of breath and chest pains.

“Don’t panic. Try to breath, stay calm. Theon, don’t panic.” Robb said, starting to panic himself, stood up, throwing over his chair in the process and grabbed an oxygen mask to put it on Theon’s face.

His heart failure was getting worse despite the medication. He later had flash pulmonary edema, so they had to put him on BiPAP, which is a form of non-invasive mechanical pressure support ventilation that uses a time-cycled or flow-cycled change between two different applied levels of positive airway pressure.

“Theon, I need you to understand that this isn’t enough. We need to do more, in order to extend the time you can wait for a heart transplant. I want to insert a [LVAD](http://greysanatomy.wikia.com/wiki/Ventricular_assist_device). This would give you the possibility of leaving your hospital bed. But it also means that you won’t be able to leave the hospital anytime soon.” Dr. Lannister explained.

Seeing Theon with such a serious expression on his face was unusual. Robb had noticed, that despite his serious condition, Theon in fact smiled and smirked and grinned a lot.

“I have to think about that. If that means that I’m trapped here for another- I don’t know how long…”

“Just don’t take too long.” Dr. Lannister said.

 

\---

 

Robb sat next to Theon’s bed, waiting for him to wake up. Robb hated seeing him like this, lying there with the oxygen mask on his face, breathing heavy. His condition kept on worsening.

Robb held one of his hands in front of his face, scratching his bottom lip with the nail of his thumb as he always did when he was nervous. He remembered when Theon told him that he actually doesn’t like to sleep in hospitals.

“Hey.” Theon greeted him weakly as he took the mask from his face.

“The LVAD will help with the organ preservation.” Robb said immediately. “You would be able to discontinue most of your medication and your heart would get its urgently needed rest.”

They stared at each other in silent for a moment until Theon began to smile.

“Robb… I’m just- I’m just so tired…”

Robb sniffed. “I understand that. But the LVAD will also improve your chances of survival …”

“Hey-“ Theon tried to interrupt him.

“I think you need it-“

“This surgery means that I won’t be able to leave the hospital. And you know how much I hate hospitals.”

“I know, but as your doctor I can’t do anything but to advise you to do the surgery. The surgery will give you time and time is what we need.”

“We?” Theon raised his eyebrows.

“We, your surgeons, we need time…” he paused for a moment and reached for Theon’s hand. “And the both of us as well.”

“You will be here?”

“Every day!”

“Ok.”

“Ok?” Robb’s face started to brighten and his heart started to beat faster.

“Ok.” Theon returned, weaker this time. He really looked as tired as he sounded.

 

\---

 

Theon’s surgery was planned to be on the next day.

Before he was brought to the OR Talisa came to his room to get him ready for the surgery.

“Robb is sugarcoating.”

“What?”

“Your condition is way worse than he told you. He likes you and that’s why he didn’t tell you the whole truth. He can’t stay neutral anymore.”

Theon didn’t know what to say.

 

The day of Theon’s surgery had been hard and unnerving until midday. Four patients had already died during their surgeries.

Robb couldn’t stand the tension he felt when he thought about Theon’s surgery, so he joined the other interns in the cafeteria. He got himself a coffee and sat down next to Jon.

“That seven-patients-rule is stupid, isn’t it?” he couldn’t help but ask. He and Talisa had been banned by Dr. Lannister from the surgery due to a fight they had had over the fact that Robb couldn’t stay objective anymore when it came to Theon’s condition. “What does the guy in the morgue know anyway? But on the other hand, he has to know, he works in the morgue after all…”

“What do you mean?” Jon asked as he looked up from the specialist magazine he was reading.

“You haven’t heard about the seven-patients-rule? Well, the morgue guy says that deaths are always in threes or sevens. So, we’ve already had four, so there’s another three to come until midnight.” Robb explained in a worried voice. “But that’s stupid, isn’t it?”

Jon raised his eyebrow. “You worry about Theon?”

“Yes, of course… He is my patient and that rule is stupid anyway…”

“You don’t really believe in that rule, do you? Don’t worry. Theon will be fine.” He reached out to touch his shoulder in emphasis.

 

Robb was assigned to assist Dr. Bronn in another surgery. He was already in his surgery scrubs as he approached Theon one last time as he was brought to the OR.

“Hey, how are you doing?”

“I need you to do me a favor.” Theon whispered with a stern expression on his face that made Robb frown.

“What?”

“My will is in the first drawer of the side table in my room…”

“Why are you talking about your fucking will?”

“We need to be realistic, Dr. Stark-“

“Dr. Stark?!” Robb asked confused.

“We need to put an end to this and if you can’t do it, then I have to…” he said as the nurse began to wheel his stretcher away.

“Excuse me, hey, can you wait a moment.” Robb said towards the nurse. “Theon, you won’t die. You mustn’t say that before the surgery.”

Theon didn’t reply to that and Robb stayed behind, looking lost and devastated.

 

Theon kept on struggling with his breathing during the surgery. Dr. Lannister suspected pulmonary embolism, he tried to get it with a catheter, but it didn’t work. They had to open up his chest, despite the risks.

The surgery was performed successfully.

 

“So I wasn't one of the seven?” Theon asked weakly, his eyes only half open, as he looked at Robb who leaned against the doorframe, trying to not look as worried as he was.

“It's past midnight… And there were only six.”

“Then why are you crying?” and there was that stupid smirk on his face again.

”I'm not crying.” Robb defended himself and wiped off his tears.

“You are.” The smirk turned into a smile.

“Oh, damn it.” Robb swallowed audibly, tears still in his eyes. “I can’t fall in love with a patient.”

“Good luck with that.” Theon whispered in response.

Robb thought for a moment, then walked forward and cupped Theon’s face with his hands and looked him deep in the eyes. He bent down and placed a kiss on Theon’s lips before resting his forehead against the other guy’s.

 

\---

 

“Good morning, Dr. Bronn… And Dr. Snow…” Theon looked up from the tray with his breakfast on it that was placed on his lap.

“Theon, we need to talk about your decision. It would really concern me if you were making medical decisions based on how Dr. Stark might feel about it.”

“Well, in that case, I say that we do this thing. Screw that dizzy, auburn-curled, doctor boy!”

“That's not helping, Theon.”

“No?”

After that, Dr. Bronn left. But Jon stayed behind. He approached and sat down in the chair next to his bed.

“I don’t know you very well-“

“You want to talk with me about Robb.”

“Yes.”

“Because you think it’s wrong.”

“No. But whatever is going on between you and Robb, there are strict rules against relationships between doctors and patients.”

“I know you’re friends, family even, but do you really think, that if I had told him to stay away and not visiting me anymore… Do you really think that this would have had any effect on him?”

Jon stared at him, he knew he was right. Robb was stubborn enough to disobey rules if it came to his feelings and his sense of what is right or wrong.

“I spent the last year of my life in a hospital bed and had a lot time to think. And damn, life is too short to follow these rules…”

 

\---

 

Robb hadn’t seen Theon since his surgery. He stood in his empty patient room, already changed into his casual clothes. He turned around as he heard steps on the floor and a bright smile came to his face.

“You have it?”

“I do.” Theon stopped at the door frame and returned his smile.

“And how are you doing?”

“Pretty fine, I guess.” Theon approached Robb and for the first time since Theon had been hospitalized they could hug properly. Robb pulled him closer, rubbing his back while Theon buried his face in the crook of Robb’s neck, stroking it with his thumb.

“Would it be really inappropriate for me to feel you up right now?” Theon asked as he took Robb’s hand in his own.

“Not really…” Robb smiled and squeezed Theon’s hand tightly.

 

\---

 

A few days later Theon was found collapsed on the floor.

“Theon.” Jamie said, putting his stethoscope back around his neck after he was brought back into his room and had been checked on. “You knew that the LVAD didn’t mean cure.”

“I want to go home.” Theon answered exhausted. “I want to go home, in fact yesterday…”

Robb stood in front of his bed, rolling his eyes.

“Unfortunately, this is not an option right now.” Dr. Lannister went on.

“And since when do you decide what is an option in my life and what is not?!” Theon asked angrily, starting to shout.

Jamie looked up from his patient information sheet, surprised. He had never seen him getting angry before.

“Maybe my heart depends on your battery right now, but it’s still my heart and my decision and my. Fucking. Life.”

“You’re right. It’s your life.” Jamie said, starting to get angry himself. “It’s your life that you’re risking. And it’s your life that you’ll end if you keep acting as before.”

Theon looked away, he didn’t even want to look at Robb and tears started to come to his eyes. “I just want to go home.” He whispered.

 

Robb let Theon alone for a while, but he decided that he would have to cheer him up. It went horribly wrong.

“Damn it, Robb, stop it.” Theon said, his face a mixture of angriness and sadness. “Drop it! You think I’m sinking into self-pity. Poor Theon, he should see the facts from a more positive angle. You have no idea what it’s like, losing the things that I’ve lost.”

“I know loss myself.”

“But not like that.” Theon shouted and stared Robb right in the eyes. “I’m a man, I’m a strong and healthy man trapped in a body of a weak, ill, little man that I don’t want, know or like. If you knew what that is like, you wouldn’t have convinced me to do that surgery. If you knew that, Robb, you would have allowed me to go…”

Robb didn’t know what to say or do, he just stared into nothing absently and shook his head. He stood up from the bed and left the room without saying another word.

 

Later that evening Robb came back to Theon. He closed the door behind him and walked towards the bed. He didn’t look at Theon, he just sat down next to him on his bed and started to take off his shoes.

“You’ll get in trouble.”

“I don’t care.” Robb shrugged, looked briefly at Theon and continued untying his shoe.

“I won’t become happy again just because of you.” Theon stated.

“Then let it be.” Robb whispered exhausted as he shifted on the bed to lie down. “I’m not here because of me. I’m here for you. Ok?” Theon stretched out his arm so that Robb could cuddle up next to him, his hand resting on Theon’s right and his head leaned on his left shoulder. He closed his eyes as Theon put his arms around him.

“Ok.”

 

\---

 

A heart became available for Theon a few days later and Jamie and Talisa went to White Harbor to retrieve it.

A tall blonde woman in surgery scrubs turned around as they walked down the hallway.

“Look who this is, Jaime Lannister.” she said with a smug smile and Jaime began to laugh.

“Dr. Maegyr, this is Dr. Tarth. We graduated at King’s Landing University together, she graduated second best. Ask her who was first?” he said still laughing.

 

In his patient room Theon signed DNR papers for the case that he wouldn’t get the heart.

 

\--- An hour later ---

“Robb! Robb, stop and listen to me. We're not doing this.” Theon said worried after Robb had explained to him what he wanted to do. A few minutes earlier they had been informed that there was a patient in White Harbor Hospital itself that would get the heart due to his condition being even more than Theon’s.

“Don't worry. You're not going to die. I will be here the whole time to make sure of that. And that's what this stuff is for.” He pointed towards the side table where the surgical instruments were lying.

“This isn't about me dying. Alright? This is wrong.”

”You've waited over a year now. Who knows when the next heart is going to come along?”

“I'll take my chances.”

“No. It may be too late by then.”

”Then it’s too late. Alright? Now get this stuff out of here!”

”Theon. You have to do this.” Robb said while he still checked the medical instruments.

”No, Robb! I'm not going to steal a heart from another man's chest! This will be the end of your medical career.”

“I don't care about my medical career.”

“Alright, you know what? This has gone on long enough. I'm going to call a nurse.” He reached out for the buzzer.

Robb turned around and looked at Theon. “Everyone who enters the transplant program is clocked in to the second. To the second, Theon. The difference between when you entered the program and when he entered the program is 10 seconds. That's it. 10 seconds. I mean, it’s not even the length of a decent kiss. So this other guy and I'm not saying that he doesn't deserve this heart. I'm sure he does, but so do you! And if you tell me one more time about heading towards the light or looking down on me from heaven… I swear to all seven gods, I will kill you myself right now!”

“Robb… I'm going to be alright. Alright? You don't have to worry.” Theon said in a serious tone.

“And what about me? What about me when you go into the light?” Robb paced back and forth in front of Theon’s bed.

“Robb...”

Robb stopped immediately and turned to Theon. “No! I get it, okay? I get it! You'll be okay, you'll be fine, but what about me?! Don't do it for yourself, do it for me! Please, Theon! Please do this for me! Because if you die... Oh, god! You have to do this! You have to do this for me, or I'll never be able to forgive you!”

“For what? For dying?”

“No! For making me love you! Please? Please, do this.” Robb said with a shaky voice, tears already shining in his eyes.

“Come here.” Theon said and patted the spot on the bed right next to him.

“Do this for me… Okay? I can't do this if you don't... Please!!” Robb sat down next to Theon and put his hands on both sides of his face. He leaned forward, his eyes closed, until their foreheads were touching.

“Okay, okay, I'll do it.” Theon whispered.

 

The decision was made. Robb stood up again and grabbed a scissor from the side table. He took a deep breath and looked at Theon’s face as he reached for the LVAD wire.

“Kiss me.” Theon said and Robb bent down to do it. Then he squeezed the scissors and cut the wire.

 

In that moment Jon entered the room. He looked unbelievingly at Robb who was still holding the scissors. “You can’t be serious, Robb. Please tell me, you didn’t just do that. That’s insane…”

Jon and Robb fought over calling a code because Theon seemed to be crashing.

“We can’t call a code, Jon. If we do that, Theon will be rushed to surgery and he will be stabilized. His condition needs to get worse in order to be first to get that heart.” Robb told Jon, he was almost shouting. “You press that code button and I will hurt you. Not a lot, because we're friends and family. But enough so that things will break and you lie on the floor out of my way.” Robb pointed threatening with his finger towards Jon.

“Robb.”

“You have a decision to make. You can stay here and help me with this, or you can leave. What's it going to be, Jon?”

Jon and Robb stayed in the room with Theon, trying to worsen his condition while still keeping him alive, so that he would be the one to get the heart.

 

Jeyne came in a few minutes later.

“You paged me, Jon?”

“You paged Jeyne?!” Robb couldn’t believe that.

Ygritte entered right after.

“And Ygritte too?!”

Jeyne and Ygritte stopped by the door, wondering what had happened. Jon explained to them and that they would have to wait for Dr. Lannister. “Everything will be fine.” He assured them.

Ygritte looked shocked, her eyes wide open. “There was a shooting, Jaime has been shot. He won’t come.”

Robb and Jon had been so distracted with other stuff, that they didn’t get what’s been happening outside Theon’s patient room.

 

Robb and the other interns now worried about what to do next with Theon after the realization that Dr. Lannister wouldn’t be coming.

“It was stupid of you to fall in love with him.” Ygritte muttered while trying to get everything together.

“Shut up.” Robb snapped back. “You know nothing, Ygritte. I love this man.”

“You don’t even know him outside these rooms…”

“I DO KNOW HIM.”

“What he wants to say, Ygritte-“ Jon told her with a meaningful look. “Is that we sometimes can’t choose who we fall in love with.”

“He’s right.” Jeyne agreed, not looking up from Theon’s patient record.

 

Eventually everyone decided to stay and help Robb and Theon.  
The only way to get out of the situation was proving that Theon was in a worse condition than the patient at White Harbor Hospital. Then they started running labs in order to get the donor heart.

Jon left the room to call Talisa. She would have to buy time so that the heart wouldn’t go to Dr. Tarth’s patient.

“Dr. Lannister has been shot. We need more time.”

“And why should I do that for that prick? I don’t want to have anything to do with that.” Talisa first refused.

“I know. Just do it. Do it for Robb.” Jon told her.

Talisa sighed. “Ok, I do what I can, but I can’t make any promises.”

   
Robb noticed the disapproving looks Ygritte continued to throw him.

“Can’t you try to understand me? I know him. I really do. Maybe we don’t live together or work together like you and- “ he gave Jon a short side glance and then continued. “It can be something and if I had to make a choice between staying here and running away-“

“You should run away!” Ygritte interrupted him. “A clearheaded person, a clearheaded person who cares for his career, who cares for what he’s been working so hard for would run away…”

Theon woke up for a short moment, looked up at Robb and muttered under his breath. “A clearheaded person is going to marry me…” before he lost consciousness again.

“What?! What did you say!? What did he just say?! Did he just say ‘marry’?”

“He did.” Jeyne said frankly.

 

Meanwhile Talisa informed Dr. Tarth that Dr. Lannister had been shot.

“Is he was alive?” she asked to which Talisa just nodded. “What a pity, he would have made a good donor.”

Then she walked into the operating room and begins to remove the donor's heart.

 

Back at Winterfell Sacred Tree the interns were with Theon trying to figure out what do to next. Theon's heart was beating too fast. They were searching for a drug which would stop his heart for six seconds.

“What does it look like?” Jon asked.

“I know it when I see it.” Jeyne replied while rummaging through a drawer. “Here, I found it.”

She handed the injection to Jon who injected it into Theon’s central catheter.

Then Theon flat lined. Robb held his breath while staring at the heart monitor.

 

…1

 

…2

 

…3

 

…4

 

…5

 

…6

 

Then his heart started to beat again.

 

Someone cleared his throat behind them. They turned around to see Dr. Bronn standing in the doorframe. “I hope, for your sake, that you have a real good explanation for what is going on here. Everyone, step away from the patient.”

“I can't, I need to pump his heart.” Robb explained.

“Wylla, take over the pumping for Dr. Stark.” Dr. Bronn told the green haired nurse beside him. “Robb, you’re done, you are going to leave this room!”

Robb still refused to let go.

“Ok…. Wylla, you stay and help, if Dr. Stark lets you. Wilde, Snow and Poole, you follow me outside to the hall.”

Dr. Bronn scolded them and as Jeyne tried to explain the situation he just told them not to speak because he didn’t want to have to testify against them in court.

“Jeyne, Dr. Lannister is requesting you. Go to see him.” Jeyne left immediately.

Dr. Bronn then asked Jon and Ygritte if they had performed labs on Theon.

“Snow, go and retrieve the results. Wilde, follow me.”

Ygritte and Dr. Bronn then entered the Room again after Jon had left for the labs. Robb was still pumping Theon’s heart and Dr. Bronn walked next to Theon’s bed.

“How are you feeling?”

“Better.” Theon said, trying to put a smile on his face. “Like an athlete or a superhero. Definitively like a super healthy person.”

“Funny, a very funny guy.” Robb agreed.

“Shut up, Robb.” Ygritte hissed.

“I cut my LVAD wire. I went rogue, I did it alone.” Theon told Dr. Bronn.

“Shh, you’re weak enough, please don’t waste any strength by lying to me.”

“Dr. Bronn?” Robb asked.

“I did in fact say ‘No speaking’.”

“I don’t care.” Robb lashed out. “He’ll get the heart, won’t he? Check his labs, his condition got worse. You can call Talisa so that she can come back with the heart…”

Jon came back with the results a few moments later.

“See. You just have to call.”

“Robb Stark, I only take medical advises from doctors and by now YOU are a visitor in this hospital. You won’t be a doctor in this hospital again until I revise my decision. Is that understood? Wylla, take over the pumping.”

And finally Robb gave the pump to her.

 

Dr. Bronn approached Dr. Cassel and asked a hypothetical question about the worsening condition of a heart patient whose LVAD wires had been cut and if it would be ethical if the patient was moved up on the donor list to receive the heart.

Dr. Bronn insisted on keeping it hypothetical in order to protect the hospital's status as a transplant site. Dr. Cassel then informed him that their duty is to the patient, so medically he should receive the heart and however hypothetically his question was, he expected names and that there would be severe consequences.

 

A few hours later Dr. Tarth arrived at Winterfell Sacred Tree with the heart. She was seemingly angry about to go into surgery with Theon.  
Robb walked by Theon's stretcher as he was taken into surgery. Dr. Bronn then took over the pumping of his heart and led him into the operating room.

Dr. Bronn, Dr. Tarth and Talisa operated on Theon. They removed his heart and realized in the process how damaged it was. Dr. Tarth concluded that he wouldn’t have lived another hour with his old heart.

 

Jeyne, Ygritte, Jon and Robb were sitting in the hallway, talking about how Dr. Bronn punished them for the Theon-situation.

Robb said that he would take the total fall for what had happened and that he knew he shouldn't have fallen in love with Theon.

“But I would rather have fallen in love with him than not. Probably I should have run, but I would rather have someone waiting for me then. He asked me to marry him, didn’t he? Did that really happen?”

“Yes, that did happen.” Jon and Jeyne said together.

“Screw it.” Robb said, got up from the floor to go and watch Theon’s surgery.

Dr. Bronn and Dr. Tarth were still working on Theon's heart transplant. They were finally attempting to get it to beat on his own. After a few moments he began to flat line.

 

\---

 

“I cut the LVAD wire.” Robb said, his shaking hands put into the pockets of his scrubs, as the five of them were called into the chief’s office.

“Actually, I cut the LVAD wire.” Jeyne said standing next to him.

”No, I did it. I'm the one who cut the wire.” That was Jon. Then there was silence and Jon gave Ygritte a nudge.

“Fine. I cut the LVAD wire.”

”I didn't do anything, I'm totally innocent.” Talisa said plainly and everyone started yelling at her. Everyone, except Dr. Cassel.

“People! I know who did this, so you might as well come clean. I know! There will be no surgeries for you until I revise my decision. Meanwhile, you will have enough time to help the friends of my niece Jory to plan the prom she wants. And now go!”

 

Talisa had a word with Dr. Cassel first.

“I went to college on a soccer scholarship. I played softball, did some dancing, ballet and stuff. But we'll go with soccer.”

“What the hell does soccer have to do with who cut the LVAD wires?”

“Let's say you were drafted to a team that wasn’t your first pick. You know, you don't like the players. You hate the way they play the game. You even think the striker is full of crap. The striker's a pain in the ass you don't owe a damned thing to. But, it's your team. You don't quit. You don't talk to the press. You don't bitch to the coach. You just, you just go out there every Sunday and you make the blocks and you take the hits and you, you play to win. You show up and you suit up and you play, because it's your fucking team.”

 

Then it was Ygritte’s turn.

“I know your type, Dr. Wilde. You're a surgical junkie.”

“Yes, sir?”

“I'm just saying, it's not going to be easy for you to be away from the OR that long.”

“No, sir.”

“And if you want to get back to the OR, you're going to tell me what I need to know, aren't you?”

“You're right, it's not easy for me to be away from the OR. And it's not easy for me to sit in front of you, or any other authority figure, for that matter, and not be able to give you the exact answer that you want to hear. I'm the one with the answers. I've always been the one with the answers. But right now, sir, I don't have any.”

“Dr. Wilde.”

“How do you keep your edge, sir? Because I've watched you and you've been doing this a long time, and you're clean...you're focused, you are the job, nothing gets to you. And the thing is, sir, I was like that...until I got here, until I actually started doing this job and now everything is—is fuzzy and...”

“That’s beside the point.”

“No, see, sir, this is the point. Because I can't tell you, I can't tell you what happened in that room. And before I could have; no guilt, no loyalties, no problem. Before—before I wouldn't have even been in that room. I wouldn't have gotten involved. I had an edge, sir. I had an edge, and I've lost it, and I need it. I need it back. So, if you could just tell me, how you keep yours and how not to be affected, I know I could be a great surgeon. So if you could just give me the answers, I would really appreciate it.” Ygritte pleaded with him desperately.

“You're excused Dr. Wilde.”

“But—“

“You're excused.”

“I'll tell you, I'll tell you who cut the LVAD wires if you'll please—“

“No you won't, I don't want to know. Not from you. Yeah, I have the answers, but I can't tell them to you. I'm not going to be responsible for you becoming less human.”

 

Robb came in after her.

“I'm a good-looking guy.” He stated.

“What?” Dr. Cassel asked confused.

“I'm not being arrogant, it’s just- it’s kind of a fact. I financed my education with my looks, did you know that they nicknamed me ‘Dr. Model’? So I get it, I'm a good-looking guy. And not in a "from a certain angle" way, it’s an obvious way. It’s the auburn curls and the big blue eyes, these things are a key to obvious beauty if you know what I'm saying.”

“Dr. Stark…”

“It’s how people see me. I'm not a smart guy or an interesting guy, I'm a hot guy. The curls and the eyes, it confuses people into thinking that I'm someone else. And I'm used to it. And I'm used to them walking away when they realize… But then Theon goes and asks me to marry him.”

“Is that why you cut the wires?”

“He doesn't make me feel like I'm a hot guy. He makes me feel like… like me. I think he might know me. And so, if I did cut the LVAD wire- and I'm not saying that I did- but if I did, then no, I don't feel guilty. And I know that I should. And I would if it were anybody else. But I can't feel anything but happy right now.”

 

Jon was next.

“Aren't you going to say anything or... I'm not going to break. I'm starting to get a little freaked out, but I'm not going to break. It’s not because I don't care, because I do care what you think about me, I do. Really. I just can't tell you what you want to hear. Which seems to be a theme in my life right now. Just because you can't say something doesn't mean you don't want to, you can want to very much. You can be with a person and be happy with them and not love them. And you can love somebody and not want to be with them. You don't need to love someone to want them. Now that's frustrating, when what your brain tells you you want and what you actually want don't match up. It’s exhausting. And, well, it’s complicated. But that's life. And life... sucks.” Jon said after Dr. Cassel hadn’t said a word in a good five minutes.

 

And finally Jeyne.

“I've known you for a long time, Jeyne. And I know your mother and father. And I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you did not cut those LVAD wires. I need you to tell me who did it.”

“I've been going over this and over this in my mind trying to piece this together. It was you, you're the reason my parents broke up. And it wasn't just an affair, she really loved you. It wasn't just this cheap thing where she didn’t tell you she was married. It wasn't all a lie. She left her husband and five daughters for you. But you stayed with your wife, because it was the right thing to do. Maybe safe, but she was the right person for you to be with. Let’s face it, my mother, nothing wrong with being safe, being with the good guy because he’s good and we are talking about forever here. You've never regretted your decision. You've never looked back... Right?”

 

 

Robb walked into Theon’s room some time after the surgery.

“You look good.” He smiled at him.

“My hands are warm. I’ve never had warm hands due to the bad circulation. And my heart is beating regularly.”

“Yes, it does. But I should go, if Dr. Bronn sees me here… And we have that prom to organize for the niece of the chief, Jory… You look- whooo- Theon, I should go…” he scratched the back of his head and turned around.

“What? You like your men sick and feeble? You don't dig healthy guys?” Theon asked with a raised eyebrow and his signature smirk.

“I dig you.” Robb answered with a smile.

“Then why are you all swirly and twitchy?”

“No, I'm not.”

“It's because I asked you to marry me.”

“So you remember that?”

Theon’s smirk had turned into a bright smile. “It's not the kind of thing I'd forget.”

“Yeah. Theon, uhm, I'm giving you an out.”

“Excuse me?”

“Well, I'm giving you an out. You thought you were dying and I was saving your life and well, you know, it was so- We can't get married. I mean that would be insane. We should date, and have sex. Plenty of sex. You know when your heart gets better and you're out of the hospital, all the sex you can handle. But marriage is, uhm, marriage...”

“Okay, it's my turn now.”

“But I need to...”

“No, no. We're taking turns. I've decided. It's polite and it keeps me from yelling at you. When it's your turn again, you can talk, but for now it’s my turn… For nearly five years, I've had to live by the choices of my doctors. And now, I have this heart that beats and works. Now I get to be like everybody else, I can make my own decisions, have my own life and do whatever the fuck I want. Here's the good part, so you listen close. What I choose is you. You're the one I want to wake up with and go to bed with and do everything else between that. It’s your face I want to be the first thing I see in the morning when I wake up. I get a choice now. And I choose you, Robb Stark. And now it's your turn again.” He said with tears in his eyes, but still smiling.

Robb was speechless. He just stared at Theon, smiled in return and left.

 

\---

 

Dr. Bronn was checking on Theon a short time later when Robb walked in again.

“Theon-“

“What did I tell you? Visiting hour starts in an hour, you’re not his doctor anymore, so if you want to visit him you have to come back in an hour.”

“I know, but I can’t wait. It’s my turn.” He said with his eyes glued on Theon.

“When the chief catches you on this floor, he’ll-“ Dr. Bronn tried to inform him.

“Just a second.” Theon said. “It’s his turn.”

Dr. Bronn turned his head and looked at Robb expectantly.

“Yes.” Robb smiled. “My answer is yes.”

Theon began to smile too. “See, now you got my heart to stop and it’s new.”

Robb approached the patient’s bed and tried to reach for Theon’s hand.

“I will have to call the security.” Dr. Bronn grumbled lightly.

“Okay, okay… Then I’ll come back in an hour… And we’re having a prom, so I’ll show you my suit.” Robb smiled as he left the room.

Dr. Bronn’s eyes wandered from one to another, smiling at each other as if there was only the two of them.

 

“I lured him into a clever trap.” Theon told him happily. “And now he’s going to marry me.”

 

\---

 

“What happened?” Jon asked as he reached Theon’s patient room. Nurse Wylla had paged him while he was dancing with Ygritte on the chief’s niece’s prom.

“I didn't know what to do. I didn't think you guys would want me to go to the chief, but...” Nurse Wylla said helplessly, fidgeting with her hands.

“Where is he?”

“He's in there.” She pointed towards the room and Jon walked inside, Ygritte and Jeyne following on his heels. Robb was sitting on a chair next to the bed, his hand holding Theon’s tightly and his head leaned on his other hand.

“Robb...” Ygritte didn’t know what to say. And this didn’t happen very often.

“I think it was a stroke. He was prone to blood clots. A clot could have formed on his sutures and traveled to his brain, it only takes a second.”

“Robb...” Jon started but he was cut off.

”Dr. Tarth did a beautiful job on the surgery. But I don't know why I didn't think of blood clots. He died all alone. He was alone.”

“There's nothing you could have done.” Jon continued.

“I changed my tie and shirt four times. I wanted to look nice. I would have been here sooner. But I couldn't figure out which fucking tie to wear.”

“Robb, we shouldn't be in here.”

“Robb, there are things that they need, they need to move him.” Jeyne said as she approached him, putting her hand on his head, carding through his hair.

“Take him to the morgue.” Robb whispered frankly.

“You can't stay here, I know you want to...”

“Can you please, please, just get out? I want to be alone with Theon.”

“Robb, that's not Theon.” Jon told him as he stood behind him, putting his hands on Robb’s shoulders.

“Shut up.” Robb stood up and lay down next to Theon, burying his face in the crook of his neck.

“Robb, it's not Theon anymore. The minute his heart stopped beating he stopped being Theon. I know you love him, but he also loved you. And a guy that loves you like that, he doesn't want you to do this to yourself. Because it's not Theon, not anymore.”

“An hour ago he was proposing. And now... and now he's going to the morgue. Isn't that ridiculous? Isn't it the most ridiculous piece of crap you've ever-” Robb started sobbing.

Jon picked him up, cradling him, and sat down on a chair holding and rocking him while Robb started to sob violently against his shoulder.

 

\---

 

Robb looked like a dying duck in a thunderstorm as he left the elevator and walked down the hall, tears still running down his cheeks as he passed Dr. Cassel and Dr. Bronn. His friends were following him.

A few steps later he stopped and turned around, his eyes red and swollen from the tears. “It was me. I cut his LVAD wire. I did it alone, no one helped me… And now… I thought I was surgeon, but I can’t…” he choked another sob and swallowed hard. “I thought I was a surgeon, but I am not… So I quit.“ with that he turned around.

“Robb…” Dr. Bronn looked after him with a caring look on his face.

Jon tried to stop him by stepping into his way but Robb just walked around him towards the exit.


	2. if happy ever after did exist

_“I lured him into a clever trap.” Theon told Dr. Bronn with the happiest face the doctor had ever seen his patient with. “And now he’s going to marry me.”_

 

\---

 

Robb woke from a start in the early morning one day, sitting up straightly. “Fuck…” He rubbed his face with both of his hands before he leaned back on his pillows again.

“Why are you making such a noise?”

Robb looked at the person lying on his stomach next to him and smiled. He couldn’t help but smile every time he woke up in the night to see that Theon was still alive and doing fine.

“I had a bad dream… Well, more of a nightmare.”

Theon still had his eyes closed but smiled too and fumbled for Robb’s hand to take it in his own. “I told you that you shouldn’t watch horror movies before going to bed.”

“Very funny… The dream was about you. You died after your surgery.” Robb’s throat felt constricted.

“Thank god that it was just a nightmare.”

They remained silent for a moment.

“I can feel you staring at me, Dr. Stark…” Theon said as he rolled to his side and opened one of his eyes.

Robb was now on his side too, beaming at him happily. “I just love watching you sleep without all these tubes and wires.”

He leaned forward to give him a kiss. “Go back to sleep, honey.”

 

\---

_“What happened?” Jon asked as he reached Theon’s patient room, Ygritte by his side. Jeyne stood outside in the hallway waiting for them._

_“I have absolutely no idea. Wylla approached me the moment I was about to try Dr. Baratheon’s punch and told me to come up here immediately at Robb’s request.” She rolled her eyes and raised her glass filled with some reddish liquid. “It seems to be VERY important...”_

_“Yeah, same here.” Jon nodded._

_Jeyne’s eyes wandered down to their joined hands and a bright smile spread on her face. “That was about damn time.”_

_“Oh, shut up.” Jon said as his cheeks turned red while Ygritte just smiled happily. “Let’s go and see what the idiot got up to…”_

_They entered Theon’s patient room to see Robb sitting on his bed, wearing his best suit, the two of them playing Scrabble again._

_“Aren’t you supposed to be at the prom? Just like the three of us?” Jon asked unnerved while his eyebrows started to rise in disapproval. “I mean, you got us in this situation… If we have to go to that stupid event, you certainly have to, too.”_

_Robb turned around to look at them. He looked happier than the three of them had seen him in a while._

_“I really wanted to go to the prom but I just had to show this really nice suit to my fiancé here and somehow he persuaded me into a short game of Scrabble so he wouldn’t be bored all the time…”_

_Jon blinked as Ygritte let his hand go to put it in front of her mouth. “No. Fucking. Way… Oh my god, Robb…”_

_For a moment they just stared at each other until Jeyne finally moved. She passed them and went forward to hug Robb. “I am so happy for you.” Then she bowed her head to the side as she gave Theon the once-over, shrugged and then hugged him too. “Congratulations, Mr. Greyjoy, you made a pretty good a catch. I hope you treat him well, he deserves it.”_

_\---_

_Robb got suspended for three months and was set on probation for another six. But he couldn’t get himself to mind. He had found the love of his life and had saved him._

_The only thing that bothered him was that since he was on suspension and not his doctor anymore, he wasn’t allowed to see Theon whenever he wanted to. He had to wait for the visiting hours before he was allowed to enter his room._

 

_“I called my sister this morning.” Theon told him absentmindedly a few days after his surgery._

_“What did she say?”_

_“Well, she didn’t answer my call. I left a message.”_

_“Oh.”_

_“It’s not that bad, we haven’t been in touch for years now… We’ll see…”_

_\---_

_Theon was released from hospital four weeks later due to his recovery going really well._

_They decided that he would move in with Robb and Jon to begin with until they got something on their own._

 

\---

 

“Why are you so worried? Asha isn’t going to kill you; she just wants to get to know you.” Theon told him as leaned casually against the frame of the bathroom door, his arms crossed in front of his chest, while Robb was getting ready for his lunch with Theon’s sister.

Theon hadn’t heard from her for over three months after he had called her from the hospital and then one evening she had suddenly appeared right in front of the apartment.

Theon had briefly introduced the two of them before he went out for dinner with her to clear things up. He had offered her the guest room but she had refused, saying that she would prefer staying in a hotel nearby for the time she was in Winterfell.

 

“And why can’t you come with us?” Robb said, putting the kicked-puppy-expression to his face. It usually worked but this time Theon had to resist giving in.

“Because I say so. How bad can it be?”

“Well, of what you told me about her and her fondness of axes and stuff… I’ll probably end in the nearest dumpster, hacked to pieces or something, if she doesn't approve of me.” He put down the toilet lid to sit down on it. Theon could hear that he wasn’t joking, Robb was honestly worried.

Theon, walked over, leaned down to put a kiss on his head and cupped his cheek with his hand. He smiled at him encouragingly. “Don’t worry, you will be totally fine… She would never hurt the man that I love. And after all, may I remind you of the first time I met your family?”

Robb laughed unamused. He remembered all too well. It would have been hilarious if it hadn’t been about him and Theon. If his family had reacted like this the first time they had met Sansa’s girlfriend Margaery or Arya’s boyfriend Gendry he would have probably laughed at the whole situation. But the whole dinner was a dreadful affair and they had agreed that they would never talk about that evening again.

Since then the relationship between Theon and Robb’s parents and siblings had improved a lot.

 

Half an hour later Robb was on his way to meet Asha Greyjoy. Theon had told Robb that she would wait for him in ‘The Kneeling Man Restaurant’, the food was excellent and the prices were affordable.

Robb spotted her immediately as he entered the room. She was sitting by the window and was already looking through the menu. She and Theon looked nothing alike, besides their eyes. Both had the same green-brown eyes. And while you could call Theon pretty handsome, his sister’s nose was quite a little bit too big for her face to call her beautiful.

She looked up from the menu as Robb approached her.

“Hi. Sit down.” She pointed towards the chair opposite her and Robb followed that order.

Then there was silence, long unpleasant silence in which Asha took a good look at Robb. She took a sip from her glass, it was an amber-colored liquid, probably whiskey, and thought for a while before she began to speak. “So, you are the future husband of my baby brother.”

It was weird, hearing her call Theon ‘baby brother’ considering that he was going to be 30 a month later.

Robb didn’t dare to say a word, so he just nodded. Asha had a pretty intimidating appearance.

“And you saved his life.”

Robb nodded again.

She pulled a checkbook and a pen from her jacket and laid both on the table. “How much do you want? 10.000 $, is that enough? 15.000? You get the money and you leave him be.” She said as she began to write. “You know that our family is wealthy and you as a former med student must have a lot of debts.”

Robb stared at her unbelievingly. “Are you serious? You want to pay me to break up with your brother?”

Asha stared back at him and nodded.

“Does Theon know what a shitty person you are? I wouldn’t leave him for all the money in the world. You can shred that piece of shit or throw it away or whatever you want, I don’t care. But if you think of me like that, you should just leave us alone.” He got up from his chair and turned around to leave. He took a few steps before he turned around one last time. “And just for your interest, I’m already out of debt. I don't need your fucking money, nor am I after Theon's... Money is nothing to me compared to what Theon and I have...”

Then suddenly a smile came to her face. Her face became softer and it really pleased her and made her look actually pretty. “Well, you passed the test. Sit down again, please.”

Robb looked at her in confusion but returned to his seat anyway.

“And I have to thank you for saving his life. He is the only brother I have left, at least. And you wouldn’t believe how many people were after him just because of his money.”

This kind of broke the ice between them.

After that they ordered the food and ate in silence.

Asha put her cutlery on the plate and rested her hands beside it.

She cleared her throat before she began to speak again. “Did Theon tell you about the message he left on my voicemail?”

“He only told me THAT he left a message but I don’t know what he said.”

Asha just nodded to that and reached into the pocket of her jeans to pull her phone out. She fumbled with it for a moment and laid it down on the table between them. “Then I think you should hear that.”

She pushed another button and then the voicemail started.

“Hey Asha, uhm, it’s me, Theon. I know we’ve had our differences in the past and I’m sorry we haven’t been in touch for so long now… Believe it or not, I was trying to make everything better and I figured out that sometimes you have to do the wrong thing to makes thinks right. Hell, this sounds even more ridiculous when I say it out loud… Anyway, I’m calling from Winterfell Sacred Tree Hospital where the incredibly good looking, aurochs-stubborn and slightly talented (he chuckled) Dr. Robb Stark has given me a brand new heart and promised to marry me. I know that you are probably still angry with me but I really hope that you can forgive me. I know who I am now. And I know what I want. I've got the love of my life, and a new heart. And I want you to get your ass on the next plane you can get and come here to Winterfell to meet this guy. Everything's going to be different now… So, bye.”

By the end Robb had tears in his eyes. This was probably the sweetest thing someone had ever said about him.

 

\---

 

Time went by and Robb and Theon grew closer and closer.

“Where are you taking me, Stark?” Theon asked one day as they sat in Robb’s car. “We just left the town… You're not trying to kidnap me or something, are you?”

“Do you know what day it is?” Robb asked with a grin but his eyes remained on the road. Theon just threw him a questioning look.

“One year ago I met a certain patient who changed my life.” His grin grew wider.

“It’s already a year?! I can’t believe that. It feels kind of like yesterday…” Theon reached for Robb’s hand on the middle console and interlaced their fingers.

“Anyway, that certain patient mentioned that he loved to do archery before he got too ill to continue. So, this is where we’re going…” he said and turned his head to smile at Theon, who stared back at him with an open mouth.

“I can’t believe that you actually remember that.” he looked out of the window. “You’re the best, have I ever told you that?”

 

\---

 

Finally the day of the wedding of Theon and Robb had arrived. After months of planning and organizing it had finally come.

“Today there will be no dead languages to solemnize vows that will remain alive for a lifetime. Today promises will become permanent and friends will become family. Today is not about words spoken or rings exchanged, nor is it about grand pronouncements. Today is about love.”

With these words the septon began the ceremony.

“Love isn’t just a word; it’s an action. Love isn’t something you say, it’s something you do. Love is genuine and honest, love doesn’t know space or time and in the modified words of Paul in his letter to the Corinthians, ‘Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never dies.’”

“We use the words we have to write stories, and poems, and songs about it. And even though we describe love in all different kind of ways; and even though love can look different from one person to the next; we all know it when we see it. And we see it here.”

“They love each other, take a look at them and you'll see it. You can see it in every look, every touch, every moment they share. In addition, the love in this room, from friends and family, will help sustain and support the promises they’ll make today.”

“Marriage is so much more than signing a legal contract. You two are promising, in front of all these people you love, that you want to be together for the rest of your lives.”

“Today is a celebration. We have thousands of important moments that happen throughout our lives, but a wedding is regarded as such a big and special one that we want to share it with the people we love. Despite all of our differences it is love what we all share.”

Then he addressed Theon and Robb who stood in front of him.

“And that’s why the both of you are standing here before me. All of us here today have our own love stories. Some are short, some are longer. There are chapters in all of our stories that are sad or disappointing — and others that are exciting and full of adventure as is yours.”

He smiled at them.

“Will you, Robb Stark, have this man to be your wedded husband, to live together in marriage, will you love him, comfort him, honor him, and keep him, in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, so long as you both shall live?"

Robb reached for Theon’s hand. “Yes, I will.” He beamed at him.

“Will you, Theon Greyjoy, have this man to be your wedded husband, to live together in marriage, will you love him, comfort him, honor him, and keep him, in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, so long as you both shall live?"

 “Yes, I will, now and always.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because I love happy endings and I think that everyone should get one…  
> Izzie and Denny as well as Theon and Robb :)


End file.
